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Conformity versus individuality
Conformity versus individuality
Gender societal norms
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Two words, “man up”, have impacted thousands of lives forming the standard ideal for men all over the world. In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo leads his life in fear of looking like his father, appearing weak. Just as Okonkwo changed his actions, George Orwell, the author of “Shooting an Elephant”, was influenced by those surrounding him and was afraid to look foolish. Submission of individuality has been going on since the beginning of humanity to now from all races and cultures. While all countries, cultures, and generations create a different image of the ideal man, they all experience a loss of individuality to meet society’s expectations of masculinity.
Growing up in fear of living like his father, Okonkwo lost his personality
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As a child develops, their surroundings have a major influence on the rest of their lives; if boys are taught to “man up” or never to do something “like a girl”, they will become men in constant fear of not being masculine enough. Through elementary and middle school ages, boys are taught that a tough, violent, strong, in-control man is the ideal in society and they beat themselves up until they reach that ideal. They have to fit into the “man box” (Men and Masculinity) and if they do not fulfill the expectations, they could experience physical and verbal bullying from others. Not only are friends and family influencing the definition of masculine, but marketing and toys stretch the difference between a “boy’s toy” and a “girl’s toy”. Even as early as 2 years old, children learn to play and prefer their gender’s toys over the other gender’s (Putnam). When children grow up hearing gender stereotypes from everyone around them, especially those they love and trust like their parents, they begin to submit themselves and experience a loss of individuality trying to become society’s ideal. If everyone is becoming the same ideal, no one has a sense of self or uniqueness anymore and the culture suffers from
In an excerpt from his book, Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men, which was first published in 2008, sociologist Michael Kimmel shows us how the teaching of masculinity in America begins to form at a very young age and goes far into adulthood. He focuses on how boys are molded from a young age to be men, by forms of harassment, teasing, and peer pressure from parents, relatives, friends, teachers, and society. In this specific essay, Kimmel explains the pressures young boys experience and the expectations as they grow into manhood. Kimmel vividly describes men who are pressured by their own peers to prove their masculinity. Furthermore, there is a relentless sense of having to show ones ' 'manly ' ' behavior. Masculinity is expected, and needs to be shown in-front of others at all times. For most men, being able to do
Guante explains how he, like other men, wants to express himself freely; however, American society will reprimand him and other men for expressing themselves out of the social norm. Guante criticizes, “I want to be free, to express myself. Man up... I want to be weak sometimes. Man up…I want to be who I am. Man up” (lines 26-32). By repeating “man up,” Guante mimics society’s derogatory response that suggests that men should not display emotions and continue daily life without showcasing their feelings because that is what society determines to be masculine. It proposes that if a man lost his wife in a car accident, he would have to hide his emotions as if nothing happened and “man up.” Otherwise, society will see him as unstable and in need of professional help. However, Guante implies that manning up will not solve problems that arise from life’s realities or suppress emotions and, therefore, society dehumanizes men by ignoring their humanity. Repetition in the quote retains the audience’s attention to the topic at hand, which is masculinity not Guante’s desires, and allows readers to picture the dilemma men have when considering their masculinity. Men who do not conform to social norms face consequences that expose them to unnecessary negative consequences, but if they follow social norms unwillingly, they sacrifice a
Boys have to hide their true selves and feelings to fit in, but in society expect men to be both tough and gentle, and be able to express their feeling, try to not hide behind the mask. Regardless, masculinity is an unrealistic expectation of men. Who cares what others think as long as they be their true self. It is apparent through my though that this essay is a good source to research or write an essay and can be teach. This essay helps parents learn more about their children feeling and grow into manhood to become real men.
Gaunte challenges the perceived benefits from engaging in hegemonic masculinity and its relevance to a person’s well being. Benefits are strictly social, whereas the costs are internal and limits how one can behave based on guidelines of masculinity. The phrase “man up” imposes gender expectations, exaggerating perceived differences between men and women such as physical strength and emotional absence. Mora concludes that puberty is a social accomplishment because boys can enact hegemonic masculinity, but Gaunte evokes the alternative where boys do not enact hegemonic masculinity and are penalized for it. Due to society’s expectations of engaging in masculinity, a boy’s freedom to express himself is limited, and being “strong in a way that isn’t about physical power or dominance” implies femininity (Gaunte). This is important because criticisms toward marginalized masculinities lead to internalized self-hatred that is projected onto self and relationships. Gaunte emphasizes the importance of addressing problems that arise from this, such as boys committing suicide, women being assaulted, and trans people being
It is widely accepted that masculine is synonymous with male and feminine with female. While it is typical for males to enjoy typically masculine activities, it is seen negatively when males enjoy a typically feminine activity. Not only is it seen as a bad thing, but young boys are often bullied or even punished for liking something that is seen as feminine. Girls are also often shunned for liking anything associated with masculine hobbies, usually having to prove that they “are not like like other girls”, insinuating that even girls who happen to like feminine activities are not to be sought after in this particular social system. Doctor Vanessa Cullins from Planned Parenthood talks about how children learn from a young age how they are supposed to fit into our social system and how damaging that can be during adolescence while the children try to create their own identity. I chose this topic because I think that we, as a society, do not think into this issue too deeply and yet it persists in our everyday lives.
From the beginning of the human race the gender roles of man and woman appeared to be straightforward. Women, being able to procreate, were sought to as nurturers, while men were to protect and provide for their family. Throughout all cultures, practices and beliefs of individuals toward masculinity significantly vary. Masculinity or manliness associates with characteristics such as strength, bravery, handsomeness, and physique in a male. With the ongoing changes in human history, the term masculinity has greatly evolved. Our western views’ paint a clear image of how children should be raised according to their gender role, which leads to more and more of them falling victim to the stigma of societal pressures and stereotypes. For example,
Unlike the negative opinions about masculinity said that it is dangerous, violence and a threat to women, positive opinions people wanting to restore masculinity. “A professor of political science and philosophy at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada” (Newell) had written an article discuss about positive things of masculinity. According to Newell that “young men need to learn a positive version of masculinity that encourages honor, pride, and respect for women.” With him, masculinity is a positive thing for men, it is honorable and respectful, therefore young men should learn it. Sadly, throughout the years, masculinity has changes a lot which made people misunderstood the actual definition of it and mislead it to violence and misogyny (Newell). Even though everyone has their own personalities, but babies are born, raise and teach by their surroundings. Due to that reason, “Newell contends that society needs to channel certain boyish traits, such as a desire to be heroic, in positive directions and teach these boys how to become honorable men.” Babies are like a clean slate, what they see is what they are going to learn, they should see and learn masculinity in positive ways of it, not the bad ways of it. To learn masculinity in positive ways, Newell states, “to do this, we must recover a sense of what it means to be manly—honorable,
Gender Socialization plays a big part in a child’s life in shaping their femininty and masculinity. Every child is brought with to have played with at least one toy to have called their own. Now, the purpose of the research that has been conducted is to take a further look into how toys that is sold through stores and played by children. This will then give hindsight as to how what is considered the gender norm has a part in gender role stereotyping and the affect these toys have on children view of gender characteristics.
From an early age, boys learn that aggressive behavior is an acceptable norm and fighting is essentially a male gender role. Young men are taught by watching TV or from social media that sports figures who are involved in violent crimes usually end up with lucrative contracts and regarded as sports legends. Throughout adolescents boys are guided by various agents of socialization, from family to school, media and peer groups become keys to a young man’s social stability. As boys mature they eventually develop their own gender expressions evident in the ways they dress, act or ...
Germaine Greer, The author of the article, is a very is inflammatory writer who is known very well around the world for her feminism. She is most famous for her book The Female Eunuch, noted as a key text of the feminist movement in the '70s. Germaine Greer is a feminist, she wrote this article in order to create an alternative female out look on a male tendency, but also to show society what was wrong with their thought about masculinity and that it is determined by biology. In the book The Female Eunuch, the last chapter was called Masculinity. There were several but the three main essential attributes of masculinity, according to the minutes off their career are that they need to be extremely strong, they also need to be in control come and they have to always feel better than women.
‘Boys will be boys’, a phrase coined to exonerate the entire male sex of loathsome acts past, present, and potential. But what about the female sex, if females act out of turn they are deemed ‘unladylike’ or something of the sort and scolded. This double standard for men and women dates back as far as the first civilizations and exists only because it is allowed to, because it is taught. Gender roles and cues are instilled in children far prior to any knowledge of the anatomy of the sexes. This knowledge is learned socially, culturally, it is not innate. And these characteristics can vary when the environment one is raised in differs from the norm. Child rearing and cultural factors play a large role in how individuals act and see themselves.
“Be a man” is common quote heard involving males in American society, especially when they are young. It is used to prompt one to be independent and tough and it seems that not only the Igbo tribe is concerned with a man’s masculinity. It is widely known throughout the world that the man of the house provides and protects the family. In Chinua Achebe’s book, Things Fall Apart, being a masculine and strong male is important and even accentuated to where it is the only thing a male focuses on. In this book, Achebe portrays a man, Okonkwo, who is obviously obsessed with masculinity and power while claiming the new religion, brought by the colonists, to not be manly enough. This happens while his tribe falls apart since they do not share Okonkwo’s
The novel Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, details the life of a Nigerian tribesman named Okonkwo. Things Fall Apart radically challenged Western Ideals of African culture. Achebe’s novel reveals the tribes advanced and intricate way of life. However, as in many cultures, masculinity is prized above all else. Okonkwo is the living embodiment of toxic masculinity as defined by the documentary The Mask
In this era, males and females both uphold household duties. Children watch and learn from their environment. A boy watching his father care for an infant is going to want to imitate his father. Playing with a doll is simply following what he has seen his father do. Taking away the doll is taking away that child’s future as a nurturing father (Gioia, 2010). Many men feel that their male child playing with a doll is not teaching him to be tough and will negatively impact their future, when in fact the boy will learn how to care and use their imagination by playing with dolls (Epand). Females are often praised when they are gentle and nurturing, while boys are not- causing boys to r...
We live in a world where society has defined masculine and famine characteristics and features that have influenced our culture. Men are seen as: